The United States Auto Club was formed in 1956 following the American Automobile Association's withdrawal from auto racing after the 1955 season, which the AAA attributed in part to the Le Mans disaster and the death of Bill Vukovich at Indianapolis. USAC's founding purpose was to sanction championship auto racing at its highest American level, including the Indianapolis 500 (which it controlled from 1956 to 1997) and a range of supporting series on dirt and paved oval tracks.
USAC's National Sprint Car Championship was divided from its earliest years into regional divisions, with separate Midwest and East classifications operating from 1956 to 1960 before consolidating into a unified national title. The sprint car class uses 410-cubic-inch engines on dirt oval tracks, producing high-powered, high-downforce cars that were traditionally non-winged but have also run wingless variations in regional series. The national championship runs primarily on dirt tracks across the Midwest.
The USAC triple crown — sweeping the Silver Crown, sprint car, and midget car national championships in a single season — is one of the rarest accomplishments in American racing. Only two drivers have achieved it in a single season: Tony Stewart in 1995 and J.J. Yeley in 2003. Six other drivers have won all three championships at different points in their careers, including Pancho Carter (across 1972 to 1978), Dave Darland (1997 to 2001), Jerry Coons Jr. (2006 to 2008), Tracy Hines (2000, 2002, and 2015), Chris Windom (2016, 2017, and 2020), and Logan Seavey (2023 and 2024).
USAC sprint car racing served historically as one of the primary developmental routes to the Indianapolis 500 and USAC's Championship Car Series, with many IndyCar champions having competed in sprint cars earlier in their careers. The national series continues to provide a pathway for drivers seeking to demonstrate open-wheel oval racing ability.
A pivotal moment in USAC's history came on April 23, 1978, when a 10-seat Piper Navajo Chieftain crashed during a thunderstorm 25 miles southeast of Indianapolis while returning from a race at Trenton Speedway in New Jersey. Nine people aboard were killed, including USAC Vice President of Public Affairs Ray Marquette, technical committee chairman Frank Delroy, sprint division head Don Peabody, starter Shim Malone, and several other key officials. The crash devastated USAC's organizational leadership at a moment when car owners were already pushing for reform.
Dissatisfaction with USAC's television rights negotiations, prize money structures, and favoritism toward older engine technology had been building for years. Most major car owners formed Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) in 1978 with the first race scheduled for 1979, effectively removing the top tier of American open-wheel racing from USAC's control. USAC retained sanctioning of the Indianapolis 500 until 1997 but ceded the national championship series to CART. The sprint car, midget, and Silver Crown championships remained USAC's primary programs after the split.
The national sprint car title has been won by some of the most versatile short-track racers in American motorsport. Dave Darland, a multiple-time champion based in Kokomo, Indiana, demonstrated the depth of Midwest talent that defines the series. Tyler Courtney won consecutive national championships in 2018 and 2019, while Justin Grant of Ione, California won four straight national "Super License" championships from 2021 through 2024. In 2012, car owners Mike Curb and Cary Agajanian became the only team principals to win all three national championships in the same year.
USAC also maintains the USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series, a regional circuit launched in 2004 that uses the same 410-cubic-inch cars as the national series and races at dirt ovals across California and Arizona. The series runs combination events with the national championship.
The USAC National Sprint Car Championship remains one of the defining venues for short-track oval talent in North America. Its dirt-track format preserves a style of racing that predates modern stadium circuits, connecting contemporary drivers to the grassroots origins of American open-wheel competition. The series also contributes to the broader USAC national championship structure, which resumed awarding an overall multi-series title in 2010 under the name of the Mike Curb Super License National Championship Award.